10 Metal Bars
by mizzentop
Summary: Dramione fanfic. Confused about her feelings, Hermione is trying to decide whether to forgive and forget everything her husband,Ron, has done. everything changes when she is kidnapped and put in a small cell with non other then her school nemesis, Draco Malfoy. She slowly seems to be letting her defenses down. But is there a reason he is locked there with her?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The sky was dark and the stars were bright as Ron and Hermione Weasley walked along the moonlit path by the edge of the lake. They walked in silence partly because they didn't want to ruin the peacefulness of their walk and partially because they had nothing to say. In fact, except for arguing about this, that or the other thing, they never really seemed to have anything to say to each other.

Hermione couldn't remember the last time they had ever been together and not been arguing. Of course that was old news for them. They had been arguing since they met each other. But now every argument seemed tired and unnecessary and every fight seemed final. But for now, on their one year anniversary everything finally felt ok.

She tried to remember how they had gotten to this spot. How when she had woken up this morning at Luna's house because she had left her and Ron's home a week earlier because she was angry with him, she was sure she was never going back. She was so incredibly angry and it didn't feel like it was going away. Nowadays it felt like she was always angry. She was so tired of it, all of it. Maybe that's why in her anger, she had gone to the ministry to try and get divorce papers. But she had run into Ron on the way there and then, somehow, they had ended up here. Walking beside him. Almost, happy. She couldn't even remember what she had been angry about.

"Look 'mione, i'm really sorry about Daphne" Ron said breaking the silence. And just like that she remembered. Ms. Daphne Greengrass. Well now she was Mrs. Daphne Zabini. Wife of Blaise Zabini. As in the minister of magic. About five, maybe six days ago there had been a party celebrating all the new aurors. As Ron had just entered the auror training course himself, he and Hermione were guests at the party. The night had started off well, her and Ron had successfully hid their argument from before and Hermione had actually started to enjoy herself. But then, somehow, Ron had ended up being found in a closet with Daphne, in what the reporters had called a "compromising position". And that was the last straw for Hermione.

She'd overlooked all his past mistakes. The mysterious girls he seemed to end up with whenever they went to clubs or bars. She believed him when he said that the alcohol had confused him. That he honestly had believed it was her he was with. She had even defended him when everyone, even Ginny had told her that she should give up. That he wasn't worth it. But she couldn't just give up on the boy she had loved as long as she could remember. But this morning, she had been ready to give. She had been ready to leave him.

She realized that she hadn't responded Ron's statement.

"I don't know what to say Ron, I'm not going to lie and say it's ok, it's not"

"I know" Ron hung his head.

"But you came, you found me and somehow convinced me to come back home. Back to you."

"I just know what to say to you Hermione, I've loved you for forever"

"I know, but we need to change some things. This can't keep happening to us. We have to find our rhythm again."

"Ok, whatever you say dear" Ron pulled her close to him.

She pushed him away, "Ron I'm serious. We can't go back to how it has been for the last few months. I don't think I can do this one more time."

"I know 'mione, I promise I'll do better"

"I know Ron, I trust you."

And as he pulled her in for a kiss, she hoped that her trust was well placed.

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"SIT DOWN LUCIUS" the loud scream piercing through the darkness. Draco watched as his father quickly slunk back into the shadows. He had been trying to negotiate for Draco's mother to be dismissed from the order. Of course, he had tried to recruit Draco earlier to help him but Draco refused. He wanted to of course, he knew that in his mother's condition she shouldn't even be leaving the house let alone potentially fighting. But he knew, perhaps better than anyone, that his father's efforts were futile.

"I'm sorry your majesty" Lucius called from where he was.

"Now that he is done," called the dark hooded figure, "we can get back to the purpose of this meeting, I have gained intelligence that Weasley and his mudblood wife, What was her name again?"

"Granger" offered Draco, his face falling in disgust. He had always suspected that Weasel and the mudblood would end up together but it still repulsed him that someone as intelligent as her could have ended up with an oaf like Weasel. "She was in my year at Hogwarts."

"Ah yes, Draco," the dark figure turned to face him, "I had almost forgotten about that. You will be quite essential in this mission."

"Sir?"

"Ah yes," continued the cloaked man, talking more to himself than to anyone else, " You will be very important. In fact I do believe that you are the only one who can do it properly."

"Do what sir?"

"Why seduce our dear Mrs. Weasley of course"

A/N: This is my first fanfic so sorry if the chapters are a little bit short and the writings a bit choppy. I promise that this story will go somewhere and have a plotline it's just not clear right now. Also I know the second half is a little rushed and short but i was planning on adding mor and then i got to that sentence and wanted to end it there. Sorry;( Thanks for reading! Please review I really want any feedback on what i can do better:))))


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Wh-wh-what?" sputtered Draco not even trying to hide the horrified look on his face. "Seduce?What do you mean seduce?"

Pansy Parkinson, who was standing next to Draco, was practically on the ground, laughing at Draco's misfortune. "Seduce; as in woo, entice, or attract someone" said Pansy through a fit of giggles"

"I am familiar with the word" Draco stated with a sneer, pulling himself together. "I just do not understand why it is necessary to 'entice' Granger"

"Ah yes, I can see how that would be confusing" the cloaked figure said, but continued not to give any clue as to what the purpose of it was.

"My lord, what is the reason for this plot? Surely it isn't necessary for Granger to be seduced. And certainly not by me."

"No, young Malfoy. I do believe the wooing of Mrs. Weasley is completely necessary. And your participation is critical. In fact, I do believe you are the only one who can do it properly."

"And why is that my lord, surely there are others who could do that do the job. People who are less...disgusted with the idea."

"And in that, you are wrong Mr Malfoy. You see, your distaste for the mudblood is key for the plan. Otherwise you may find yourself getting...invested in her."

"I would never get invested in a girl like _her_. And even so, surely everyone here is disgusted by her filthy muggle blood."

"Draco I would think it would be obvious why you would be better in...the art of seduction then the others your age, like young goyle for instance. Surely you know that you have more of a ...desired physical appearance."

Draco hung his head feeling slightly awkward that the most powerful man in the world was calling him attractive. Of course he knew. Draco had been using his physical attributes to his advantage for years.

"Now Draco, don't be modest. There other things that qualify you for the task. For instance, Ms. Parkinson tells me that you have quite the apt acting ability."

With this Draco shot a glare at Pansy who was very noticeably staring at the ground. She was the only one who had ever seen Draco act. Back when they were dating, Pansy had been very...experimental and at one point she had suggested doing some 'roleplay' and Draco, just wanting a shag, went along with it. He figured he was pretty decent at it as he had pretty much perfected the art of hiding all of his emotions from everyone around him. He guessed he was safer if no one could ever guess what he was thinking. And if this..mission was to be his, he was probably right in thinking that.

"So my lord, if I am to be assigned this, what is the point of seducing her? What do we need to know?"

"Ah yes the purpose, well my young Mr. Malfoy, Have you ever heard of the Veela Coven?

0000000

Hermione rose from her bed feeling thoroughly rested for the first time in who knows how long. She looked over at her snoring husband and felt a little...off. As she looked down at him, lying in the bed in a pair of plaid pajamas she didn't feel all the love she used to feel when she looked at him. But like most of her emotions, she pushed this feeling aside. After all, it might just be that she hadn't fully forgiven Ron yet. And she knew she would, eventually.

She grabbed a loose jumper and a pair of jeans and went to change her clothes in the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth She examined herself in the mirror. She had definitely grown since Hogwarts. Her hair's insane frizz had settled down a bit into what were quite nice curls. Being a dragon trainer with her brother-in-law Charlie had given her tons of time outdoors which resulted in a slight array of freckles across her nose and upper cheeks. It had also led to quite a lot of scars, the most noticeable of them being the large one down the side of her nose, starting all the way at the top of her forehead. Overall though, she thought she look good. She thought that the scar was just a reminder of the danger her job as someone who works with dragons posed, which gave her a lot of satisfaction. She liked knowing that the work she was doing was slightly dangerous.

She went back to the bedroom, grabbed a scarf and a pair of flats and quickly scribbled a note to Ron.

Ron,

Going to Harry and Ginny's. Be back tonight. Don't forget to stop by Neville's on the way home from work.

Love, Hermione

Leaving it on the dresser way she knew he would find it, she headed to the door, grabbing her coat on the way. She had decided to walk to Number 12 Grimmauld Place seeing as it was still quite early and Hermione figured she probably should have some time to think. She knew telling harry and Ginny that she had forgiven Ron once again would be hard, they had been completely against her forgiveness last time and that was in better circumstances than this. She would simply explain to them how she trusted Ron, and she had faith that he would not fail her again. She hoped that they would understand how she couldn't just leave him. Not after all this time.

Hermione realized with a sigh that she had reached the housed. Hoping for the best, she climbed up the stairs and gave a tentative knock on the door.

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"No my lord, I've never heard of a 'coven' before"

"To put it simply, a coven is a group creatures that when working all together can be more powerful than anything else. More powerful than even me."

"So why Granger then? What does she have to do with it?"

"As I'm sure you know, our dear Mrs. Weasley's husband is an auror. The very auror in fact that was assigned to the project of keeping the Veela Coven safe. Which means that he know their whereabouts."

"But my lord, would it not be easier just to kidnap him?"

"No. It has to be her. You must discover the information from her. It is imperative that she not only trusts you, she must love you. I'm can not tell you much more of the plan. She is quite the intelligent which and if given the chance she may enter your mind. You have to trust me young Malfoy. Just get the mudblood to love you. I will do the rest."

"My lord, if I am to do this, I have a condition."

The man in the hood looked surprised for a moment and then snarled "And what might that be?"

" Let my mother be released from the order. She is frail anyway and is of no real use to you."

"And if I refuse?" asked the cloaked man, looking angry yet intrigued.

Draco pulled a small bottle of poison out of his pocket causing several people including his father and Pansy to gasp, "Then I will drink this and you will not be able to complete your plan. As you said, I am the only one who can do it."

To Draco's horror, the terrible man began to laugh. He laughed for a long time before he finally stated "Ok"

Draco tried to hide the surprised look he wanted to give and simply said, "Thank you my lord"

Ignoring him, the man turned to face three of his trusted members."Remember the plan. She will need to be beaten but alive. And if she is with anyone, they must be disposed of. There can be no witnesses."

The men nodded and apparated away.

"And now Mr. Malfoy,"he said, turning back towards Draco "let's take you to your new home."

000000

It was just as Hermione had feared. She told them first about what Ron had done, during which Ginny said a lot of horrible curse words aimed at Ron, and then about how she had forgiven him, which did not go over well.

"Look Hermione, I love my brother, I really do. But he's an ass to you. You deserve better than that."

"I agree with Ginny" Harry stated. The first thing he had said since Hermione had started talking.

"I know that neither of you understand it, hell, i don't even really understand it, but I love him. And I want to be with him. I just want your support in this."

Ginny looked horrified, "No way! I cannot let you stay with such a-"

"Ok" Harry cut in. " I'll support you 'mione"

Ginny's head whipped around to look at her husband. "WHAT!" she yelled.

"I do have a condition though" Harry said, completely ignoring his wife.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, looking nervous.

"Let me walk you home.I want to talk to Ron."

"Ok" Hermione said, standing up. "Let's go"

They walked in silence, down the cold windy street. Harry didn't quite know what to say to his best friend but he knew he had to say something. He couldn't let Hermione suffer anymore because of Ron's mistakes.

Suddenly a carriage came hurdling around the corner, going full speed. As Harry turned to look at it, a bright green light suddenly came down from the rooftops above.

Hermione looked over just in time to see her best friend for so long fall over onto the pavement. Dead.

Hermione let out a scream of horror as suddenly something heavy hit her over the head, and she was knocked unconscious

A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger guys:(((. I know the writing quality in this chapter was super bad, sorry.I was writing really fast to try and post this today. Hope you liked this chapter tho:))) This is where it starts to get a bit more interesting.:))) Hopefully some Draco and Hermione interaction in the next chapter:)) Please review and let me know what you thought about this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

When Hermione opened her eyes, she was in a small metal cell with a pounding headache. She rubbed her eyes and sat up trying to remember what had happened. She tried to push herself up and suddenly felt a sharp stab of pain in her wrist. She cried out, and bent down to examine her wrist. It was bright red and incredibly swollen. She hoped it was only sprained but she had a feeling it was broken. She went to examine the rest of her body finding countless bruises and cuts and several other bones she believed to be broken including her ankle, shoulder and a number of fingers.

What could have happened to her? And suddenly it all came back. Leaving home. Walking through the streets of London. Arriving at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Being startled by a speeding carriage. And then... Harry. Oh no, not Harry! It couldn't be. Her oldest friend. And now he was gone. Just like Dumbledore and Fred and Snape, he was truly dead and gone. Hermione suddenly became very aware of the streams of tears running down her face.

No. She had to pull herself together. She knew she would need to mourn, and nothing would probably be the same again, but as for now she needed to focus on where she was and what had happened.

She looked around and took in her surroundings. She was in a room, if you could even call it that. It was more of a cell. There was one wall, and the rest of the sides were made up of metal bars with about 7 centimeters in between each one. There was a small barred window on the wall with no glass, which explained why it was so cold. It must have been about 8:00 pm because there was very little light coming in. She could tell that there was two other cells on either side of her. In the one to her right there was a man sitting against the wall but she couldn't see his face because of how dark it was.

She decided to examine the place that was to be her home for the immediate future. There was bucket in the corner she supposed was for going to the bathroom. And that was it. There was nothing else.

There was no mattress or even a bench to sleep on. No pillows, or blankets. Nothing to shelter her from the cold but her ripped and bloody clothes. And Hermione promptly began to cry again.

In all her life, all her battles, all her struggles with Voldemort, things had never been this bad. She had never felt so alone. She had always had her friends. But now, Ron was far away and probably hadn't even realized she was gone, and Harry, well Harry was gone and she was never going to see him again. She was sobbing by now. Choking on her tears and snot as it ran down her face in steady streams.

"Hey could you keep it down over there, I'm trying to sleep." came a voice from the cell next door.

Hermione turned her head and found herself looking into the eyes of Draco Malfoy.

A/N: Hey guys, I know this chapter is horribly short but I'm leaving tomorrow to go on vacation for 2 weeks and I wanted to give you guys something to read before i leave. I promise that I'll make this chapter longer when i get back but for now, i hope you guys liked this part. Sorry about the cliffhanger but they're always the best places I find to leave off on. Please review and give me feedback about the story:))))


	4. Chapter 3 Part 2

Chapter 3- Part 2

Draco awake to the sound of crying. Not the quiet gentle crying he had heard from his mother when her sister Andromeda passed away two years ago. Granted, she and his mother had never been close but she felt a sisterly love towards her that could never be taken away, even by years of hurt and bitterness between them. It was also very much unlike the quiet sobs he had heard from himself and his father, the day they found out about his mother's illness. Those had been quiet, precise,and full of regret.

But, these sobs. They were the kind that got into your head and never went away. They spoke of pain, of suffering. They were filled with gushing tears, running snot and choking. They were not quiet beautiful tears, they were loud and ugly. They told of a person who was really truly hurting. A person who, unfortunately, was seated only six feet away from and they were only separated by ten metal bars.

Now Draco was not normally the sort of person to "suffer in silence" per se. When he was miserable he like to make sure everyone knew he was miserable. But now, after such a long day, with the prospect of what he had to do in the next few weeks never far from his mind, making the misery he was being caused by the despair six feet away seem a rather dumb thing to bring up especially not to her.

When he had first arrived in the dark dingy cell he was currently occupying, he immediately regretted agreeing to this (even though technically, he really had no choice in the matter). It was quite possibly one of the most ugly drab places he had ever seen in his life. Everything was a dark gloomy gray, which somewhat reminded him of home but here there was no refreshing splash of emerald green to mix up the furnishings and make everything seem more livable.

All there was was a small bucket in the corner he supposed was for going to the bathroom. But there was no offer of privacy of any kind. When he had to go, he would have to use it out in the open, within clear view of the occupants of the other cells. Specifically the cell right next to his, which would soon be filled with, well, he didn't want to think about the ghost of his childhood, who would soon be coming back to haunt him. And to think of what he had to do…

But no. He had to think of the positives. At least he had a blanket and pillow which was more then she would be able to say. Granted, to make it look like like they weren't planning favorites the blanket was full of holes and the pillow was definitely not new.

And suddenly Draco felt like crying. Why him? Why did it have to be him? He was not suited to such a filthy state of living and such an unfavorable task. He wanted to be at home, under his silk sheets in his mahogany bed in the manor, not in some god-forsaken jailhouse in the middle of nowhere, forced to do a demeaning task such as this.

But as quickly as these feelings started, they stopped. He was here. He might as well make the best of it. And with after taking a final breath of freedom, he entered the cell and closed the door, locking it behind him. He set his blanket and pillow down and sat down in the corner where he quickly fell asleep.

And that is where he awoke three hours later to the sound of sobbing.

He tried to just ignore the sounds and go back to sleep but he couldn't. For some reason the noise was getting into his head and driving him mad. It wasn't just that they were sobs, it was that they were _her_ sobs. And that they were sobs of pain. They got inside him messing everything up.

And so he sat and prayed that the noises would stop. But after twenty minutes he couldn't take it anymore.

He turned his head, looked right at her and said, "Could you keep it down over there, I'm trying to sleep"

A/N: Ok guys, I am SO sorry that it took me so long to post the second part of that chapter, since I have gotten home from my vacation, I've just been super busy trying to have lots of fun before school starts.

I know this chapter is really short, and didn't really move the plot along at all but I wasn't planning on uploading today until I remembered that today is the day of the epilogue and i knew i had to do something Hp. I literally wrote this chapter in an hour and didn't even proofread it cause i wanted it post it so bad to give u guys something. Im also exhausted because i was sick yesterday so….. Thank you guys so much for the reviews I got, I appreciate everything you write me. Im planning on posting again soon so hopefully the wait won't be as long for the next chapter. Thx guys:))) and i hope u enjoyed the chapter;)


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hermione quickly shut her eyes.

This couldn't be real.

 _He_ couldn't be real.

He was just a image. A nightmare her brain had come up with to haunt her even more. Yes that had to be it. Her brain was just coming up with something that could make her life even more excruciating and it had chosen him. He wasn't really there.

Having firmly convinced herself of this she slowly opened her eyes. And there was. Not saying anything. Not making any movement of any sort. She could barely even see him, there was only a little light coming in through her window that reflected off his bleach blond hair and porcelain skin.

It had to be him, who else could it be? But he wasn't making fun of her like she was used to expecting from him. He wasn't calling her mudblood or making fun of her frizzy hair. He wasn't even doing his trademark sneer. He was just looking at her. A look of disgust clearly portrayed on his face.

It had to be real then. If it was just a nightmare vision, he would definitely be doing more than just looking at her with disgust and, was it just a trick of the light or was there some pity in his gaze as well? Then he had to be real. He was real and he was here with her. Seated only six feet away.

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She hadn't said anything.

Hadn't responded to his comment.

Hadn't responded to his presence.

Hadn't responded to him.

He had no idea why that irked him. The minute she saw him, she had just shut her eyes. This gave him an opportunity to look her over. She was covered with dirt and grime, as if she had been here for day or even weeks, not hours. The only clean part of her was the two streams down her cheeks where clearly many tears had fallen. Her right wrist was red and swollen and looked broken. There was a bloody gash on her upper thigh that was bleeding profusely. She obviously had not noticed it because she had done nothing to attempt to stop the blood flow. She had a large cut down the side her nose, but it looked like a scar from a long time ago. What could she have been doing in the past few years that would cause that? Surely he would have noticed it if she had been adorned with that at school. Granted, he usually refrained at looking at her due to the fact that he had found her repulsive. Not only was she a mudblood, but she had incredibly frizzy hair that usually resembled a bush which he found incredibly distasteful to the even he had to admit that she had looked nice at the Yule Ball. But practically every guy was wishing he didn't have a date that night so they could dance with her.

She had changed since school though. Even though her hair was very messy from being kidnapped, he could tell that the friz had settled into curls that were actually quite pretty. Actually, while he was on the subject, all of her features had settled into what was now a quite pretty face. A face that was still red and puffy from crying.

And then he realized it, he pitied her. She had been ripped away from her home and her supposedly happy life and shoved here with no idea where she was and why she was there. In fact, she barely knew anything at all and, if he was being honest with himself, he would have reacted much worse under the circumstances.

Just as quickly as she had shut her eyes, she opened them, exposing goldish amber eyes brimming with tears at the sight of him.

He realized that she wasn't just surprised at him being there, she was scared by his presence. He was scaring her. As a teenager, he had always hoped to have that effect on people, especially the bloody golden trio. It had never worked, as was so obviously shown when she had punched him in third year. But now that she was sitting here, looking at him with fear, tears running down her already soggy cheeks, he felt the strange urge to comfort her.

Quickly he shook that feeling off. Except pertaining to his family, Draco Malfoy normally didn't care very much about other people's feelings. But for some reason the silence that was coming from this girl was more harmful the her earlier sobs. They shook him right to the core.

And so, with a much softer voice this time he asked, "Please Granger, stop crying."

He had a mission to do after all.

Why not start now?

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The second sentence distracted her even more than the first thing he had said. Who was this person sitting across from her. He looked the same more or less as he had in school, just more grown up, more….. Mature.

It was quite unsettling. What was he planning?

What were his motives?

Why was he speaking so kindly to her?

Where the hell was she?

Why was her thigh stinging so badly?

What did he have to do with any of this?

And most importantly, What was she going to do next?

All of these questions swirled through her head creating a whirlwind of confusion and fear.

She decided to go for the easiest of these questions, and looked down to inspect her thigh. There was a large gash that she hadn't noticed and it was bleeding, fast and furiously.

"Here" He was speaking again. "Let me help you with that." He stood up and walked over to the bars, crouching down right next to them and holding out his hand. She instinctively shied away from his hand.

"Come on Granger, if I was going to hurt you I would have done it already. Now let me help you so I can get back to sleep."

For some reason the sound of him acting more like his old self, selfish and superior, calmed her, and gave her the courage to go over next to him and lay out her leg, still saying nothing.

Waving his hand over her thigh, she watched as he seemingly sucked the cut right out of her skin effortlessly. He had obviously been practicing his magic. He had cast that spell wandlessly and soundlessly, something even she had not completely mastered. Yet.

And suddenly, he was done. And the pain, that she had not even realized was there until now, was completely gone. Usually after doing a healing spell, even a very powerful one, there was still a slight tingling in the body. A reminder that magic is not perfect. But his magic, well it was as close to perfect as you can get.

She looked up at him curiously.

"I've been practicing" he said, looking into her eyes, still on the brink of tears.

And suddenly Draco found himself doing something he never thought he'd be doing. He was being comforting.

He watched with amazement as his hand reached out, and began to lightly tap her on the back.

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He was hitting her. No not hitting her. That would have made more sense. He was patting her. On the back. It almost seemed like he was….. No. He couldn't be. Draco Malfoy was not consoling her. Yet the odd tapping on the back of her shoulder, though admittedly very strange, was oddly comforting as well.

She pulled away.

This was just too weird.

Where were the snide comments?

Where were the sarcastic remarks?

Where was the classic Malfoy sneer?

Where was the Draco Malfoy she had come to know and loathe?

And who was this person sitting across from her, who looked the same as Malfoy but hadn't been rude to her, but had healed her wound, but had attempted to comfort her?

"Stop" she whispered to herself.

"What?" he asked, "You're going to have to speak up Granger"

"Stop" she said louder this time.

"Stop what?" he inquired, sneering at her. There it was, the trademark sneer. Seeing it pushed her to elaborate.

"Stop…. Doing whatever it is you're doing"

"You'll have to be more specific" he said with a chuckle.

"Stop… being comforting, helping me, stop acting like you care. I know you don't."

"And how would you know that? You barely know me."

"And you know me?" she asked, this time it was her turn to jeer at him.

"No." he answered honestly. "But I know many things about you Granger. I know that you went to Hogwarts same year as me, became friends with the bloody golden trio after almost being killed by a troll. You and your friends got in a ton of dangerous situations that should have killed you but unfortunately did not. You defeated Voldemort, triumphed over evil etc, oh and I know that you married Weasel himself a few year back."

Hermione was a bit taken aback by this crude assessment of her life. "Yes I did, and I'll appreciate it if you don't call me Granger. That's not my name anymore."

"You didn't seem to mind it earlier when I called you that."

"I..I.."She did not want to admit that until he had mentioned her marriage to Ron, she had not remembered it.

"Ahhh, trouble in paradise?"

"No!" she answered a little too quickly. "I just…. I..I didn't want to take that name in the first place but Ron insisted. I have always wanted to change my name back." Then she gasped.

"I can't believe I told you that. I've never told that to anyone, not even Harry." she was getting a little too comfortable opening up to Draco Malfoy.

She could just make out a slight smile on his face through the gloom.

"Ah yes, Potter, the golden boy, How is he these days?"

"D..D...Dead" she answered stuttering as she began to cry again. "It happened today. O..Or ma..maybe yesterday. I'm not sure how long I was out for."

She looked up to see his face. To see if he knew. But he was just sitting there looking quite shocked.

"Potters dead?" he finally asked, after an uncomfortably long pause.

"Yes. he was hit by the killing curse from above as we were walking down the street. Just before I was kidnapped and taken here."

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A range of emotions ran through Draco's head. Harry Potter, the wonder boy, the bane of his school life, was dead. He didn't feel like he thought he would have felt. He didn't feel relieved, or excited, or sad, or anything at all really. He just felt… empty.

He had hated Potter in school for being loved. He was loved by his parents (before they died), loved by his teachers (Dumbledore and McGonagall at least), by his friends and adored by people all around the wizarding world. He would never admit that he had been jealous but…. he probably had been. He had never felt that sort of love from anyone in his life. His friendships always had more to do with loyalty then with actual affection. Potter and his bloody golden trio had an unbreakable bond that Draco had never felt with anyone.

That wasn't the only reason he had hated him though. He rejected Draco without knowing anything about him. He had extended the hand of friendship and it had been shut down. If he was being honest with himself, that exchange was part of the reason he didn't try and be nice to people. They just let you down in the long run.

But now, Harry Potter was dead. The boy who lived was gone and he was never coming back. Harry Potter had saved them all from a genocide, and as much as he hated to admit it, Harry Potter had saved him too. Not only multiple times during the battle of Hogwarts (which Draco did not like to think about for obvious reasons) but he had saved him from becoming truly evil. He was caught up in this new Dark wizard group now but, as soon as he got his mother out, he was getting the hell out. After all, there was nothing for him to stay for.

Draco turned and looked at the young women sitting opposite him. He could only imagine what was going through her head right now. If Potter's death was affecting Draco this much, he couldn't even imagine what it must be for her. Her best friend had died, and she had witnessed it. She had had a front row seat in the demise of her oldest friend. Suddenly Draco was feeling quite strange again. He wanted to help this girl. To take away her pain. To make her stop hurting.

In normal circumstances he would have just shrugged these feelings off and gone back to sleep. But no one could say that these circumstances were anything close to normal. He was supposed to seduce her right? So might as well start by being kind. Maybe that would work. He didn't know, he had never used that tactic before to get girls. Might as well try though.

So, for the first time in years, Draco Malfoy decided to act on his feelings.

00000

This was strange. He had not reacted the way she had expected him to when he was told of Harry's death. She had expected….well..maybe...happiness? He certainly had hated Harry in school. Wouldn't he be joyful to hear that he no longer that he no longer had to deal with him.

But his vacant stare was anything but happy.

She looked at him with confusion as he dealt with whatever thoughts were going on in his mind. And then he looked back at her. His eyes filled with pity and sorrow. This was too weird. Finally after a long awkward moment where neither of them seemed to know what to do, he moved and sat against the wall, legs out in front of him, directly next to the bars separating him and her.

After quickly contemplating her options, she moved over and sat beside him. Pressing up against him though the bars. Yes this was Draco Malfoy and yes she probably still hated him but right now, she could use somebody's shoulder to cry on.

And so, very hesitantly, she lowered her head onto his shoulder, where it fit perfectly.

0000

"This isn't so bad" he thought to himself as the top of her curly mess of hair nestled into his neck.

They sat like that for a long time, hours even. He listened as she quietly cried to herself and slowly, very slowly, fell quietly asleep. After she had been asleep for at least an hour, he was sure that she was in a deep sleep. Very slowly so he did not wake her, he moved her head off of his shoulder and sat her against the wall so she would not tip over in her sleep. After she was settled, he went back over to the corner he had been in before. He leaned up against the wall and tried to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. He had decided to go with this whole "nice" persona and he hoped he could keep it up.

But as he sat there with his eyes closed he thought to himself, "Maybe this whole acting thing won't be as hard as I originally thought."

A/N: Ok guys, I am SO sorry. I said I would post soon and its been a month. I just started school about a month ago and its been really stressful getting back into the swing of things. I also have been trying really hard to make this chapter longer and actually have some stuff happen in it. This chapter is 2 pages longer than chapter 2 which used to be the longest chapter so I promise I have made SOME improvement. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, it's my favorite one so far. Please, please, please review I really want to know what you guys think. I hope you liked the chapter and I will try really hard to post sooner this time.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

There was sun shining in her eyes, arousing her from her almost pleasant sleep.

"Luna, shut the shades, I want to go back to sleep" she groaned, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Not so sure I can help you with that" came a voice that was definitely not the quirky lovable tone of Luna Lovegood. In school Hermione had always been very annoyed by Luna, but as the years had went on she and Luna had become extremely close. Luna had always supported Hermione's decisions, whatever they may be.

But the voice coming at her wasn't Luna's voice. It wasn't a voice of happiness or cheerfulness or even friendliness. She was also pretty sure it was a man's voice.

"Who…" she started to ask as she opened her eyes. And then she saw Malfoy, and everything came back to her in an instant.

She was trapped, she had been kidnapped, nobody knew about it, Harry had been killed and she was trapped here with none other than her school rival.

As her eyes began to well up again, she quickly fought them back. She had cried enough yesterday for a long time. She was strong. She was brave. She was Hermione Granger. And she was not going down without a fight.

There was also the fact that she had shown enough weakness in the face of he man whose intentions were still very much unknown to her.

"Do you know what time it is?" she asked, trying not to sound too interested.

"Yes Granger cause I brought a bloody clock with me on this wonderful trip to a prison cell."he answered with a classic Malfoy sneer.

In response she sent him a glare that, if needed, could probably kill a man.

00000

"Wow" he thought to himself "I need to learn how to glare like that."

Because Granger, despite her cushy Gryffindorness, had perfected the intimidation look that he had never quite mastered. Even he felt a little nervous in the face of it.

He finally understood why Potter and Weasel always let her boss them around.

Faced with that impressive stare, he answered kinder this time.

"No, I don't know what time it is. Based on the amount of sunlight I'd say it was around 8:30 in the morning."

He watched as she let out a massive yawn.

"Why are you already awake?" she asked him groggily, stretching out her arms but the quickly pulling her right arm down as apparent pain shot through her body.

"Well, Granger, unlike you, I don't enjoy wasting my precious time on such frivolous things such as sleep."

"Oh really," she inquired, a sarcastic look on her face, one eyebrow raised, "And what have you been doing instead? Did you find a way out of this strange hellhole yet? Because if not, you wasted even more time, watching me sleep."

"Actually I find watching you sleep quite enjoyable."

"Do you?" replied Granger, a grin on her face. "Well then, glad to be of service."

"Thank you, I would pay you but it seems I left my change purse in my other dark dreary cell. Oops."

And then the strangest thing so far happened, she laughed.

00000

She was laughing. She was stuck in a jail cell who knows where with seemingly no way to escape and no way of rescue, stuck with her old nemesis, with cuts and bruises all over her body and… she was laughing.

She couldn't help it. He was just so casually funny. It was even weirder because he was Draco Malfoy, her enemy, and they were being civil towards each other. She was joking around with Draco Malfoy.

And then it hit her, why was he acting so strangely. He had never ever acted this...nice? Was that the right word?... to her before. It was weird. Why was he here anyway?

Her face having completely changed, so her expression was stony she asked, "What are you doing here Malfoy?"

00000

Now that was interesting question. He couldn't very well tell her that he had been sent by the most recent dark wizard to trick her into falling in love with him. He had a feeling she wouldn't take that all too well. But then what should he say?

He decided to just play it dumb.

"I don't know Granger, what are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure." she responded, looking confused. "I have no idea who brought me here, how I got here, or where I even am."

"And I am the same. We are in the same boat Granger."

Except they really weren't. She was a victim and he was the one causing the damage. As always.

00000

"We are in the same boat Granger"

In the same boat. Now that was an odd thought. She quickly looked around.

"You'd think with your money and my status we could get ourselves a better boat, preferably one with a mattress, and maybe a pillow, if we're feeling greedy."

And now it was his turn to laugh.

His laugh was actually quite nice, it wasn't too loud or obnoxious and it was rather refreshing to hear. It inspired her to continue this little banter they had going.

"Although I see you do have a pillow, so I guess you must be our captain. Or just whoever put us here is a sexist bigot. One of the two."

Malfoy sighed, "Unfortunately I don't think it's either of those things Granger."

"Well what then?" she snapped, more than a little put out by this abrupt end to their banter.

He sighed again, and suddenly she felt the urge to slap him, "I believe that whoever put us here might like me slightly better than they like you which is a bad sign for both of us."

"How is that a bad sign?"

"Because people who like me better are mostly people you'd rather not come into contact with.."

"Well I think that don't like either of us very much, considering we're both in cells. We're in the same boat remember?''. She gave him a small smile.

00000

One second.

He had believed for one second what she was telling him.

That they were alike. That they were dealing with the same problems.

But no.

He was working for the one who put her here. He was helping to keep her here. He knew what was going on. And she knew nothing.

She was trapped. She was hopeless. She was alone.

And he was having trouble believing that he was the one doing the right thing. He felt horrible that he knew what was going on and she didn't. And yet she was handling it much better than he was.

He tried to imagine himself in her circumstances. Taken away from her family with no idea where she was, having watched a loved one die, and been beaten.

And suddenly he needed to stop. If he thought to hard about it, well he might not see the reasons anymore.

"Whatever Granger", he mumbled, and turned away from her, shutting his eyes once more.

Unfortunately, doing this could not block out the gnawing feeling he was getting inside.

A/N: I'm so so so so so so so sorry. I said it would be faster and now it's been almost three months and I've given you guys nothing. I'm not going to say all the excuses but just know that I'm really sorry. I went through a lot of writer's block during this chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it was probably my favorite so far despite all the trouble I had writing it. Please please please review I really want to know what you guys think. I know it's late but happy holidays to everyone:))))


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